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Former Republican lawmaker: More Trump faith council members should resign

Former Republican Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) said on Sunday he was "disappointed" that only one member of President Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board had resigned in the wake of the president's comments on the violence last week at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

"You saw the exodus of many people on the business council who resigned, who said, 'Those are not my personal values, those are not our corporate values, and those, we don't believe, are the values of our country,'" Watts told NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press."

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"We had someone from the president's faith council that resigned, Reverend Bernard out of New York. I'm quite disappointed, Chuck, that we didn't have more on the faith council to resign, or at least speak out," he continued.

Bernard said he had "quietly stepped away from the panel" several months ago.

"In a social and political climate such as ours, it often takes a gathering of unlikely individuals to shape the future of our nation on issues of faith and inner city initiatives," Bernard said.

"I was willing to be one of those individuals, and that is why I agreed to serve on the President's Evangelical Advisory Board," he continued. "However, it became obvious that there was a deepening conflict in values between myself and the administration."

Trump garnered controversy on Tuesday when he said "both sides" were responsible for last Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, despite the unrest occurring during a white supremacist rally. A car driven into a crowd of counterprotesters resulted in the death of one and multiple injuries. The alleged driver had ties to white supremacists, often described as part of the "alt-right."

“What about the alt-left that came charging at the — as you say, the alt-right?” the president asked. “Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. As far as I am concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day.”